The Marauder years
by MrsPadfootProngs
Summary: Come on a journey with James, Sirius, Remus and Peter as they face their biggest challenge yet, surviving their first year at Hogswart, Pranks, teasing secrets and that's only the beginning. Please Review - CHAPTER 3 IS UP
1. In Compartment number 9

The Marauder years 

By

Mrs PadfootProngs

Chapter One

In Compartment number nine

Disclaimer – **_All characters and places, which seem familiar belong to the author not me_**

****

Author note – **_I know there are plenty of these flying round but I'm going to try and make mine slightly different, for one Remus is fairly talkative, he's not a mute in this story, Peter has his own opinion and his own confidence at the moment, James and Sirius are not best mates the minute their eyes meet, best friends are something which happen after a long period. _**

**_            Sirius may seem a bit dodgy at first but with his mum and being surrounded by that view can you honestly blame him. I know the title suck, if you can think of a better one, please let me know. This is based on year one, and will feature their pranks and growing friendship and all sorts. Hope you enjoy and sorry about the rant, I swear it will be shorter next time._**

**_            Enjoy_**

            Sirius Black looked round him with a look of interest on his face, He was meant to associate with all kinds here, kinds he knew his mother would disapprove off and if she disapproved of them then the view had to be right, didn't stop him being curious though like any 11 year old would be.

            He glanced up at the tall woman who was watching the happy families with something close to hatred on her face, of course she would never show such a emotion in public but he knew her and he could read her emotions almost as well as his own. They had a strange relationship. He thought she was proud of him and was always saying in her way how thankful she was that he had the Black's good looks and telling people how clever he was and what a fantastic Slytherin he would make, whether the people want to know or not. She looked down and his navy blue eyes were met with silvery grey eyes that were sharp in expression, they softened very slightly as she looked at him and the hand on his shoulder tightened so he could feel her rings on his flesh.

            "Try not to talk to anyone who doesn't look like a Slytherin" she advised smoothly "You may find that you've made conversation with a half blood or worse a mud blood and we don't want you association with the wrong people do we, you're a Black after all" Sirius nodded his head taking in her words. She knew best after all, he was used to talk like this, he had, had them for all his life.

            "Yes Mamma" he replied now and a tight lipped smile came to her face

            "Good boy, now get in a carriage by yourself and turn everyone away from you ok if they try and sit with you, you'll know your friends soon enough" Sirius nodded again and made his way into the train, after kissing his mother's powered cheek. He found a compartment by himself and sat himself down looking bored at the scene outside the window.

            He wondered vaguely what the big deal was about the mud bloods and half bloods, he had never actually met one but the way his mother and his father when he was around went on about it, they had to be bad.

            "Can I sit here?" Sirius jumped and looked round at the door. A fairly tall, skinny boy stood there, messy black hair covered his hair while hazel eyes made bigger by his rounded glasses stared at him with a slight challenging look, he looked pale as well. Sirius bit his lip as his words of his mother came to him then shrugged

            "I'm not stopping you" he said finally, the boy nodded at him, a curious look on his face then glanced round the compartment, placing his stuff above the table. He sat down and took his jacket off. A moment's silence followed as the train came to life beneath then and set off, once they were away from the station the boy spoke.

            "I'm James Potter by the way, it's nice to see someone else who looked as lonely as I did, everyone else seemed to know someone and that's the worst thing to happen don't you think?" James gave a nervous laugh causing Sirius to turn from the window again and look at him in faint confusion. What the hell was the boy going on about? He wasn't lonely at all.

            "Are you a Pure blood?" he asked bluntly, James looked surprised by the question

            "Pure blood?" he repeated then nodded "I am why?" Sirius didn't answer his question instead he introduced himself

            "I'm Sirius Black, it's nice to meet you James" If James looked surprised by his question he looked close to fainting now

            "Black" he squeaked out, Sirius nodded raising an eyebrow

            "As in the colour" he said trying to be helpful. James nodded

            "I know but aren't Blacks…" he didn't continue and Sirius let it go, he had no idea what a Black was meant to be. Finally it clicked

            "You mean aren't we all meant to be Slytherins and bastards?" he asked curiously, James nodded

            "Well…" Sirius considered the question seriously, this boy James was the first on he had met his own age; the people his parents associated with had children who were either older or younger then himself and so not much company. "My Cousin Andromeda she was a Ravenclaw" he said helpfully "she's nice and so is my Uncle Alphard. The rest are…" he trailed off and shrugged "Well you can't choose your family" he said lightly trying to make a joke of it, he just followed his parents views because what else was there to follow? James watched him a long time maintaining eye contact and Sirius was under the impression that he was being judged. Finally James smiled at him

            "Sirius Black" he said "You're right, you can't choose your family but my Dad's always saying that that's why we have friends, they're the family we choose" Sirius blinked at that but before he could answer the door opened and a rounded boy stood there. He was smaller then both James and Sirius and decidingly plump like a likable teddy bear. Pale blue eyes looked out from a round face and soft blond hair covered his head. He smiled shyly at the two of them.

            "Erm hi, I was wondering whether those two seats are taken?" he asked, his voice matched his appearance, he pointed at the two seat next to the boys, a hopeful look on his face. James shrugged and smiled warmly at him

            "No you can sit there" he said pleasantly, the boy nodded his thanks and withdrew his head quickly; the pair of them could hear him calling to someone down the hall.

            "Remus I found two seats come up this way" he dragged his trunks in and a holder, which seemed to be holding a cat and collapsed in the chair next to James with a look of exhaustion on his face. "Stupid trunk" he announced with a nervous smile "My Mum probably packed me tons of things I won't need" James laughed at the comment

            "My Mum was the same" he admitted then made his voice high pitched in an attempt at mocking his mother "James dear pack another sweater or five, it may be chilly there" Sirius laughed alone with them though he was frowning slightly. His mother wasn't anything like that. James stuck his hand out "James Potter by the way and you are?" the boy glanced down at the hand in surprised and then smiled

            "Peter Pettigrew" he announced "People call me Pete though" he pointed at the cat basket "That's my Cat Fluffy, not original I know but…" he trailed off and looked at Sirius, who smiled slightly

            "Sirius Black" he said keeping his hands by his side, he saw Peter's eyes widened and sighed, was he going to get this every time someone heard his name? Peter glanced quickly at James before smiling hesitantly at him. He then spoke

            "That's Remus Lupin by the way," he pointed to the door as a boy struggled in with a trunk and an owl cage with a gorgeous white owl in it. He shoved them down and looked up. Sirius and James looked at him in interest, feeling more drawn to him then they had done to Peter. He was taller then Peter but still fairly small and skinny. Blond hair was cut in a shaggy fashion and grazed his collar at the back of his shirt; he still had volume to it though.  Large Amber gold eyes looked out of a pale tired looking face though there was a flush of colour on the cheekbones from his struggle. He sat down and spoke

            "Peter you're a star I couldn't find any other compartment" he glanced shyly at the other two

            "Sirius Black" Sirius remarked instantly "And yes I am one of the Blacks" the boy Remus looked confused

            "So?" he remarked calmly "It's just a name" he glanced at James who saw the look

            "James Potter" he said, "Peter here tells us your Remus Lupin, French by any chance?" A slightly cheeky smile came across Remus's face and he shrugged

            "Half French, Half Irish" he admitted "Me Dad's French hence the surname but My Mum's Irish, that's where I live Southern Ireland" he stopped and went quiet, as if he was suddenly aware he had said to much.

            "I wondered where the accent came from" James remarked with a laugh of his own. Peter spoke

            "You did better then me, I though he was Scottish" Sirius spoke

            "How did the two of you meet?" he asked, Remus spoke, he was quietly spoken so they had to strain to hear made all the more difficult by the other boy's thick Irish accent

            "We were both trying to get though the barrier," Peter laughed

            "Failing miserably, Remus was there before me staring blankly around him while I was too terrified to run through in case it was the wrong one" Remus grinned slightly

            "Bloody couple of Prats we looked as well" he admitted, James grinned alone with them, at least there was nice people around, the three in front of him were an example of that.

            "So your both pure bloods?" Sirius asked, Peter nodded but Remus shook his head

            "No me Dad is a wizard and comes from a family of Wizards and witches and me Mum, she's as Muggle as you make them bless her" James smiled at him but Sirius turned and looked at him funnily. This boy was what his mother had wanted to keep him away from. He seemed fine enough to Sirius. He watched Remus bestow another shy smile at him before turning back to Peter and bit the inside of his mouth. He'd wait a slight bit longer to make his view on things. He had all the time in the world after all, why rush things and have to find another compartment. He glanced up at James who was watching him before looking away. Yeah he decided settling down further. He'd make his mind up later.

First chapter finished, don't ask me why but I just can see Remus being Irish, probably the only one in the world but there's my problem. Sirius doesn't really believe the pure blood thing but he's only 11 and if you've been drilled in it, then it's going to affect you. Please review. Next chapter will be the 4 meeting Hagrid, Lily Evans and the sorting house!


	2. Lily and Hagrid

The Marauder years

By

MrsPadfootProngs

Chapter Two

Lily and Hagrid 

DISCLAIMER – **Nope none of mine**

AUTHOR NOTE – **Right I have no idea if anyone's reviewed this, according to the story itself there has been 3 reviews according to my stats there has been none and yet I'm on the author alert for 3 people. Somehow I think once again Fanfiction.net is screwing everything up.**

**            If you have reviewed then thank you, I really wish I could read them. As you can tell we're introduced to Lily and Hagrid in this chapter, hope you enjoy.**

            "I wonder what we'll have to do" James suddenly announced turning his hazel gaze from the window and the passing scenery and instead focusing on the other three wizards. They were near the end of the journey and having exhausted most of the subjects their 11 year old minds could come up with, had slipped into a strangely comfortable silence.

            James had been staring out the window, being lucky enough to have one of the seats, he had been frowning slightly, trying to find some landmark which would tell him where they were, unfortunately there were none and so he was lost and being lost was a feeling he didn't enjoy experiencing. Sirius had joined him in gazing out the window and occasionally pointed out things to James, he seemed deep in thought though and ever so often his gaze would turn to Remus and he would watch him in confusion before looking away and frowning more. Remus was happily reading a big heavy book entitled _Hogwarts a history_, that looked boring to the other three wizards, his eyes were beginning to shut though and the book which had started up by his face was slowly making contact with the table as if it was too heavy to hold. Peter on the other hand was eating Bertie Botts every flavour beans extremely slowly, he had a method of staring at them for a long period of time before carefully licking one, if the taste was nice he ate it, if it wasn't then he placed it on a small pile by the container, needless to say the pile was steadily becoming bigger.

            At James's voice though they all came to attention, Sirius turned his gaze from the window, instead focusing on James with a slight puzzled look, Remus had opened his eyes fully and placed the book on the table marking his page, only Peter carried on with what he was doing as he spoke

            "What do you mean what we'll have to do?"  He demanded squinting at a green sweet and trying to decide if it was spearmint flavour or something else. He cautiously licked it and made a face as he shuddered. Definitely something else.

            "You know, when we get there" James went on looking eagerly into each of their faces "When we get there we have to do something, that's how they decide what house your in but what do you have to do?" understanding filtered through the other three boys faces then Remus chuckled as he spoke. They were still having difficulty understanding him but as he grew more comfortable around them, they noticed he spoke up more even though he was more quiet then the three of them put together.

            "I heard from my older brother that Dumbledore asks a question, the answer being in Hogwarts a history and depending on how fast or slow you answer that will determine your house. My brother is a Ravenclaw so he must have got it dead fast" he grinned brightly at them and patted the book to emphasis his point. James grinned back

            "So that's why you were reading that book, and here I was thinking you were doing it for fun" Remus blushed slightly

            "I was, I've read it already, this is the second time round" a silence echoed in the room before Peter, with some insight and sympathy towards the embarrassed boy spoke cheerfully.

            "Well I'm doomed" he remarked "I haven't read anything in the book and I know even less so I'll send you some mail from Hufflepuff shall I?" the rest laughed and James spoke again, leaning forward so his glasses slipped down his nose

            "I heard from my sister and brother that you have to perform a spell, depending on how complex the spell will indicate which house you're meant to be in"

            "A spell" Sirius repeated then grinned properly at them for the first time, not the unsure ones he had been using before. This one transformed his face making him look extremely cheeky, navy blue eyes glinted with fun as he carried on his sentence "I heard from my Uncle Alphard that you have to wrestle a Troll, a real one as well" he laughed as the other three shot him horrified looks

            "It better bloody not be, look how skinny I am, the thing would break me in two with one hit" James remarked with a shudder. Sirius laughed then trailed off a dejected look coming to his face.

            "It will probably be something really simple, but then again what does it matter I'm a Black after all, I'm bound to be thrown into Slytherin" he frowned even as James and Peter shot each other a quick glance. Remus spoke, a smile present on his face that didn't show in his eyes, which suddenly looked older and sadder then before.

            "Well Sirius" he began, the other boy looking up at him "I'm almost certain I'll be in Slytherin as well so the two of us will have to keep each other company and sane in that house, deal?" he questioned lightly ignoring the shocked looks the other three shot at him, he sounded so sure about it as if he already knew. Before any of them could argue this point a light girlish voice spoke. All four jumped as they swung to the door and stared at a girl of average height.

            "I don't think you need to worry about being a Slytherin you know" she looked considering at Remus, who flushed under the thoughtful green gaze "You just don't look the type, from what I've read and heard all Slytherins are nasty bullies" she grinned as she stepped into the room and closed the door behind her "You look like a Gryffindor or Ravenclaw to me" she walked forward and held her hand out to Remus, a cheeky half smile on her lips. She had a pretty face, a few freckles littered her smallish nose while wavy red hair fell to just above her shoulders, her main point of beauty though was her green eyes, which blazed from her pale face. "I'm Lily Evans by the way, yet another first year and you are?" she seemed to be talking only to Remus who, with a quick look round the others, took her proffered hand and shook it gently.

            "I'm Remus Lupin, at your service Lily, it's a pleasure to meet you" he said automatically, all the training his mother had given him about how to treat a person coming forward. She stared at him for a moment then giggled taking her hand away from his, a shy look coming across her face as her cheeks reddened, leaving all four of them to look at each other in confusion at her suddenly change. James, having enough of being left out, leaned passed Peter and held his hand out

            "I'm James Potter" he announced, she shook it with a smile as he continued, "It's nice to meet you Lily"            

            "And I'm Peter, Peter Pettigrew but call me Pete all my friends and family do" he reddened slightly as he realised he was waffling and instead held out his hand, once she shook it he held out his box of sweets "Want one?" he offered, she looked in confusion at the box then shrugged placing her hand in and picking out a reddish pink one. Sirius suddenly laughed, he didn't quite understand what was going on but he was beginning to think his mother's view on people was wrong, Remus was a half blood but he seemed decent enough to him and he was pretty sure Lily was as well. He would have to ask her in his next letter exactly what the deal was with them. He now spoke

            "Better take him up on his offer Lily, that's the first he's offered them around, you must be special" Peter bristled up

            "I did offer them around but you were in gaga land and didn't even notice me shoving the box in your face" Remus laughed

            "Yeah I got a liver flavour one" he shuddered "I hope never to get one of them again" Lily grinned at them and sat down as Remus made space for her, she popped it in her mouth whole and waited for a second before chewing a smile coming to her face

            "Yummy Strawberry my fave" James laughed

            "Lucky you but I doubt you'll be so lucky the next time" he claimed, the others nodded and Lily turned to Sirius

            "Who are you by the way I missed your name?" Sirius nodded

            "That you would have cause I haven't given it to you yet" he remarked calmly then he smiled "I'm Sirius Black" he looked for any recognition on her face but like Remus's there was none, he carried on "I'm the leader of these idiots" he commented lightly throwing a hand out and indicating the others.

            "You wish you were Black' James said in mock outrage "For it is I, James Potter who is the leader of you all" Sirius shook his head with a defiant look on his face that was completely belied by the twinkle in his eye

            "In your dreams Potter" he shouted pointing at the black haired boy

            "No in yours Black" James shouted back, While a good natured fight broke out between the three, Peter had joined in by throwing his disregarded beans at them both, Lily turned to Remus who had been watching it with a grin and spoke in a fairly quiet voice

            "Where about in Ireland are you from" she asked, Remus turned towards her as she spoke and smiled, she frowned slightly as she realised that although his smile was very attractive looking it didn't show itself in his eyes, instead they looked saddened and had a look of resignation to them as if he thought all of this was going to end. Before she could think anymore of it he spoke and she had to strain to hear him over the noise of the other boys.

            "I come from Castlebarr, it's in the south, lived there all me life"

            "Is it big?" she asked, she wasn't sure why she was so interesting but Miss Lily had a talent, she could tell when someone was hiding something and both Remus and Sirius were clearly hiding something big. Sirius was less approachable them Remus since he seemed to be holding himself back, leaving Remus as her target

            "Home?" he questioned himself slightly "Our house is, it has to be but the rest of the village is not, it's in the middle of nowhere" she wanted to ask more but he seemed to close up after that and instead looked towards the door where a boy of 15 walked in, well they assumed he was 15 since he had the bright red prefect badge pinned onto his black cloak. He was tall and well built with dark brown hair that covered his head messily while grey eyes twinkled at them all, immediately the play fight stopped and all 5 just stared at him making him shift slightly uncomfortably beneath it.

            "Hi" he said as way of greeting, he was Scottish but luckily the accent wasn't thick "I'm Frank Longbottom and I'm prefect for Gryffindor" he pointed at the badge even as Sirius and James began to grin manically at each other. Frank sighed and spoke "And yes I am aware of the fact that my name does include the word Bottom in it" giggles broke out at this point and Frank wisely ignored it though he couldn't stop his voice becoming slightly cooler sounding then it had been before "I'm also the beater for the Gryffindor Quidditch team" a look of pride came across his face as James stopped laughing and instead looked at him with a great deal more awe and respect. The others grinned; Frank had just said the magical word where James was concerned, it was clear to them that James was obsessed with the sport. Frank continued "Anyway, change into you robes please, there's an empty compartment opposite so change in there, we'll be arriving home in 10 minutes" he smiled and swept out leaving the door open behind him, allowing the sounds of laughter and chatting to come into the compartment. Lily stood up and mock glared at them

            "Very mature guys, you hear the word bottom and you do that" she said as the four boys began laughing again "I'll see you all later, hopefully we'll be in the same house" she made her way to the door then stopped and looked round in confusion "By the way" she said "What's Quidditch?" she asked, the four boys stared at her in shock, she looked embarrassed "What? I can't help if my family are Muggles" Sirius's eyes widened at that and he bit his lip, if his mother found out that he had been in a compartment with a Mudblood and had actually spoken to her as if she was a friend he was going to be dead he didn't understand any of this, she had seemed nice enough. James answered her and missed the look but unfortunately for Sirius, Both Remus and Peter had seen it

            "It's wizard sport" James said eagerly "If we're in the same house I'll explain it to you ok?" she nodded and left, closing the door behind her and allowing quiet to filtering again. Remus stood up

            "I'll get changed first" he announced with a smile, Peter went to stand up speaking as he did

            "I'll come with you shall I?"

            "No" Remus said firmly his voice louder then before, for a moment there seemed to be a glimmer of fear in his eyes before he laughed, sounding slightly nervous

            "I don't like getting changed in front of other people, stupid I know but I can't help it" he grabbed his clothes as he spoke and escaped without another word frowning as he did. The other three stared after him in surprise

            "Hmmm strange kid" James commented "Nice but definitely a bit strange" the other two nodded and waited patiently, Remus returned in a few minutes, dressed in his new uniform, a smile on his face, a face that was bright red

            "Whoa" Peter remarked standing up, it had been decided that both him and James would go next "You look like a stop sign, what's up?" Remus shrugged his shoulders, leaning down and stroking his bird softly, the owl hooted in appreciation.

            "Nothing" he remarked not looking at them "Just that Lily girl said I looked good in the uniform that's all" he blushed again obviously unused to compliments

            "She probably fancies you Remmie" James remarked with a grin "Rather you then me, girls are yucky in that way" both him and Peter left with a laugh leaving Remus and Sirius. Remus sat opposite the quiet boy and watched him thoughtfully. Sirius looked up

            "What?" he asked, Remus shrugged

            "What did you think of Lily then?" he asked carefully

"She's fine" he replied after a moment, Remus nodded 

"Good" he said firmly then made eye contact "It just You looked at her quite funny at the end, when she mentioned she was from a Muggle born family. You have no problem with that do you" his voice though still smooth had become quite challenging. Sirius looked away, he didn't know what to think at that moment

"I told you, she's fine" Remus nodded as James and Peter walked in

"Buck up Siri the train is slowly down" James announced, Sirius stopped for a second and looked at James in surprise then nodded. When he was gone, Peter turned to Remus and raised an eyebrow

"Well?" Remus shrugged

"I'm not sure" was all he said, the train came to a standstill and they collected all their stuff together as well as Sirius's who appeared a second later looking quite ruffled, he thanked them for getting his stuff and they all got off the train bumping into other students as they did

"firs'-years this way" a voice cried above the din of the other students. The four of them looked up and gasped, in front of them was a giant of a man, none of them had ever seen anyone that tall before. He had black hair that was running wild over his head and down to his shoulders and he had a beard to match. Twinkling black eyes looked down at them as they stared up and he winked at them putting them all at ease, in one huge hand he held a lantern "This way" he repeated again and led them away from the other students, down a winding path

"Where are we going?" James demanded running to keep up with the giant steps 

"And who are you?" Sirius asked also running

"Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts, yeh can call me Hagrid" he stopped at spoke to everyone, "there's yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts" they all looked up to see a huge castle on top of a hill, shrouded by the moon and stars it seemed, many ohhhs were heard as they saw it, but James, Sirius, Remus and Peter ignored them and instead looked at each other with identical grins and the same identical feeling in their hearts. They had come home 

I know I said that I was going to out in the sorting house but I decided that can have a chapter to itself, due to the fact I feel its important, extremely important in fact.

**Anyway hope you enjoyed it, Sirius will be explained more in the next chapter but just remember what he's seeing is contradicting what he's been taught so he's finding that hard.**

**Next chapter is the Marauder and the sorting hat so review and I'll update soon!**


	3. The sorting hat

The Marauders Years

By Mrs PadfootProngs

Chapter Three

The sorting hat

DISCLAIMER – **None of the characters that are mentioned in this chapter are mine because a name here and there can't be counted really.**

AUTHOR NOTE – **Here's chapter three finally, sorry it's taken so long but I have 5 stories to update which is hectic at the best of time, add essays to that and you'll see why! **

**            Thanks to the people who reviewed, most appreciated and I hope this chapter will be ok. I wanted to have all 5 of them in it, what the hat said to them I mean so that should explain it. Enjoy**

PLEA – **Anyone tempted to be a Beta-reader to this story, if not then that's fine, if it's a yes then please tell me in a review or in a email. Thanks!**

            "Four to a boat now" Hagrid said, his voice booming over the quietness of the lake that was rippling softly in the breeze directly in front of them, for an instant the new student remained glued to the spot staring at their new home with awe and excitement unable to do anything but stare. James was the first to bring himself out of his thoughts, glancing around he shrugged and stepped forward, bounding down the remaining three steps and jumping into one of the small wooden boats causing it to rock violently and nearly tip him into the shallow end of the lake. It steadied however and he looked back at the crowd that were slowly moving to the boat. A blond girl went to get into the same boat as James, but he soon ushered her away with a frown

            "This boat is taken" he said watching her scowl at him and throw her hair over her shoulder, he ignored it "Hey Sirius, Remmie and Pete get in this one" the three boys complied though Remus turned to James with a raised eyebrow

            "Remmie?" he repeated in disbelief "You're going to call me Remmie" he laughed slightly causing James to grin at him

            "Why not?" he replied, "It's kinda short for Remus" Peter spoke

            "Surely the shortened version of Remus would be Re or Rem, Remmie is actually longer then the original how does that work for a shortened version?" James rolled his eyes

            "Fine it sounded good at the time, if you don't want me to call you Remmie Remus then I won't" Remus shrugged

            "I'm not bothered, there are worse things you can call me" he remarked calmly. Sirius nodded

            "My name can't be shortened really can it?" He asked thoughtfully

            "Yeah" James remarked instantly "Every name can be shorted or made into a nickname, I can be Jamie or Jim or something like that Remmie for example ca be a longer nickname version of Remus happy?" he asked turning to Peter who nodded brightly James turned back to Sirius continuing  " and Peter is shortened to Pete of Petey" 

            "Call me Petey and I swear you'll get a beating" the smaller boy warned with a laugh "That's what my aunt Mary and my Nan call me and it drives me mad it's normally always accompanied by a horrible big wet kiss on both my cheeks" he shuddered.

            "Fine Pete then" Remus remarked with a laugh "Sirius…" he mused turning back to the original question  "there's always Siri I guess" he said doubtfully, the other three looked at him

            "Siri?" Sirius repeated "Is that worse then Remmie?" Remus grinned and went to reply when Hagrid spoke cutting across their small chatter easily.

            "All in?" he questioned, some people raised their voices with answers, other remained silent too nervous to speak "Hold on then, keep away from the sides" immediately James made a move to go to the side and look into the water when Sirius leaned over and hauled him back with a grin

            "Great entrance that would be Jim boy arriving soaking wet" he gave the other boy a thoughtful look "Saying that though at least it would flatten your hair down" James looked offended, or would have if it wasn't for the glint of amusement in his eyes, probably prompted by Remus and Pete's laughter at the comment. Sirius grinned as well

            "Below the belt Black" James said lightly running a hand over the offended black hair trying to flatten it. Sirius grinned at him and shrugged

            "If you say so," he replied, a silence fell over the group that lasted until they were half way over the large lake, some talking came from the other boats but it was pretty peaceful until all of a suddenly Pete spoke, a very weak sounding Pete.

            "Er Guys I don't feel to good in fact I think…" he suddenly clapped both hands over his mouth, his eyes widened as he looked frantic from the lantern light at the front of the boat they could see his face turning green and all three automatically recoiled from it

            "Over the edge Pete over the edge" James cried, Peter gave no sound of acknowledgment but he flung his body over the side and threw up, regardless of the cried of disgust from the fellow first years. He would have toppled in if both Remus and Sirius hadn't reacted and hauled him back into the boat. He looked extremely pale and extremely embarrassed as he wiped his mouth, his previously pale face turning scarlet.

            "Great" he muttered, the other three looked sympathetically at him before Sirius spoke

            "At least people will remember you," he said with a smile that he tried desperately to hide, Peter scowled at him

            "Great I'll go down in history as Peter Pettigrew the one who was sick into the lake, great reputation there" he groaned, the other three tried to look sympathetic but they made the fateful mistake of looking at each other and instead burst into laughter, Peter tried to keep his glare on his face but their laughter was contagious and he soon found himself chuckling with them

            "It's a great way to be remembered Mate" James remarked clapping his hand on Peter's shoulder "everyone's already talking about you" Peter shrugged as Remus spoke

            "And think it will be a great way of introducing yourself. Hi I'm Peter you might remember me, I threw up into the lake on the very first day of term" they laughed again ignoring the looks the silent people in the other boats were sending them.

            "Here we are" Hagrid called out again, he jumped lightly onto the shore for a man of his size at least and watched as the boats lightly bumped into the side. "All of yer out now" he commanded and they followed his instructions, Some people like James jumped nimbly out while others like a black haired boy with a hooked nose fell out causing laughter. Hagrid held his lamp up again and glanced at them all "Follow me" he called and turned round leading them up several stone step "ere they are Professor McGonagall" he remarked to a tall woman standing at the top of the stairs "All safe an sound though I think one threw up" James grinned brightly turned to a now scarlet Peter who was cursing under his breath and staring at the ground as if it was suddenly extremely interesting.

            "I see, thank you Hagrid I'll take them from here" the teacher remarked, she had a pleasant sounding voice though there was something to indicate that she was stern in it "Come in" she remarked pushing the heavy door open and allowing them into a warm spacious hall, pictures on the wall came to life pointing at the new student and whispering comments to themselves and their next door neighbours, they followed her up the stairs looking round with eyes that suddenly looked scared and nervous. Once at the top she stopped them and spoke again "I'm Professor McGonagall" she began looking at several of them as she spoke "I'm the deputy teacher of the school and I also teach Transfiguration. You'll be sorted into your houses shortly; Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and my own house Gryffindor, these houses will be like your family, any good deed you do will be rewarded, a reward that will benefit your house and perhaps help them win the house cup, any mistakes or trouble caused will wipe out someone else's hard work. Bear that in mind. Wait here" she swept away down the corridor and disappeared leaving the new students to look around each other

            "Cheerful wasn't she" James suddenly remarked with a nervous laugh 

            "Yeah" Sirius muttered, his stomach was in knots, in a few minutes he would be shoved into Slytherin like the rest of his family and then people like James would never talk to him again.

            "This way please" Professor McGonagall called, her voice echoing down the hall. After a seconds hesitation the student began slowly walking down the corridor then door was flung open and they were in the great hall. The room itself was huge and impressive, long wooden table span the room vertically, 4 different rows indicating the four different houses, Slytherin to the far left, followed next by the Ravenclaw house. Next to them were the tables belonging to the Hufflepuff's and finally the Gryffindor tables. There were no portraits in the room, only the different banners of the house and emblem as well above the teachers' table. The ceiling was what was most impressive about the room; done by magic that few could perform anymore it was charmed to reflect the weather outside no matter how what it may be. At the moment it was dark, a few stars and a half moon spaced across the largeness of the ceiling. 

            Of course the first years didn't notice the detail at all, in fact the only thing that they were aware of was the eyes of the entire school focused completely on them, Sirius took a quick glance at his 3 new friends, for he had decided that regardless of where Remus came from in reference to his blood they were friends, in his eyes his mothers view was wrong, Peter looked extremely sick again while Remus had gone extremely white and every now and then a tremor went through him. Even James looked extremely nervous and Sirius noticed that one hand was clutching the black hair making it wilder then usual. 

            They came to a stop in front of the teachers table while Professor McGonagall climbed the steps and halted next to a three legged stool, there was an old worn hat on it, that looked as old as anything Sirius had seen before. Professor McGonagall spoke again, her voice easily echoing across the vast room with no effort what so ever.

            "When I call your name out, you come and sit on the stool once there I'll place the sorting hat on your head and then once it had decided you are free to sit down with your new house mates" she said, the 4 boys shot each other a quick glance with a faint smile but none of them felt like saying anything else. " Douglas Abbots" she called out, there was some movement from behind them then a dark haired boy brushed past them, completely pale with dark grey eyes open to their fullest extent. He climbed to the top of the stairs and with a nervous glance at McGonagall sat down on the chair. She placed the hat on him and the 4 watched as he jumped violently causing a few knowing laughs from the older students.

            "HUFFLEPUFF" the hat suddenly yelled causing all the new students to look in shock at it, where the top of the hat met the brim it had separated causing a mouth. Douglas jumped down and made his way hastily to the Hufflepuff's, as he went Sirius noticed that his uniform changed by magic, his plain black tie turning yellow and black, a picture of a badger with the words Hufflepuff now stood where the emblem had previously been on the black cloak.

            "Diane Armstrong" once Diane Armstrong had been sorted away into Ravenclaw and Dean Avery, a mean looking kid with brown hair and brown eyes had been sent to the Slytherin table she spoke again

            "Sirius Black" a few murmurs came at the name and as Sirius walked up the stairs he could see a few members of his family suddenly looking interested. He sat on the chair and the hat was placed over his head.

            _Ahhhh another Black had been sent to me, but not the last oh no there's one more to go, your brother am I right?" _Sirius remained silent _there's no need to answer dear boy I can see everything in your mind. You expect to be a Slytherin and yet you don't want to be. Interesting every member of your family has longed to be in that house except one other. Like them you could be great if you went there, perhaps one of the greatest wizards of our time._

            "I don't care" Sirius thought "I don't want to be in that house, I've seen what it does to people"

            _You know already how angry your mother and father would be with you, what It means to them?_

"I don't care" Sirius repeated his hand curling into a fist

            _There is plenty of intelligence in you Sirius Black, loyalty also. A healthy love of pranking that just needs the right people to bring it out. Plenty of courage but plenty of faults that need to be dealt with. If Slytherin is not for you then there is only one place for you Dear boy_

"Where?" Sirius whispered out loud holding his breath

            _It will have to be _GRYFFINDOR," a silence echoed round the hall for a second as everyone took it in, Sirius took off the hat and was greeted with loud cheers from his new house. A warm feeling came over him. From his new family. He glanced over to see his 15 year old cousin Narcissa glaring at him as if was a piece of rubbish she had seen on the floor, another glance round at the Ravenclaw table showed him his 17 year old cousin, Andromeda clapping her hands loudly together, a grin threatening to break her face in two. An answering one came to his face as he slipped into an empty chair, shaking the hands that people offered and soaking up the warmth. They were honestly glad to have him there. The names went on and on; 3 ended up in Slytherin, 2 in Hufflepuff and 1 in Ravenclaw until it hit upon a name that was familiar to him and he waited with bated breath.

            "Lily Evans" Lily took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a second before making her way to the front, she caught Remus's eye and he gave her an encouraging smile that she replied faintly to. She climbed onto the chair and then the hat covered her eyesight, hiding the rest of the school away from her.

            _Evans _a voice said in her head making her jump violently, a talking hat this would definitely be something to write home about _Ahhhh I see you have a keen sense of humour and that you are the first magical one in your family. Slytherin is not for you they would suppress that quality. Ravenclaw may be good. You are highly intelligent with several gifts that you are not yet aware of. Perhaps not though. The loyalty you have should indicate Hufflepuff but your courage over rides all. You will end up doing great thing Lily Evans and to help you on your way you should be in _"GRYFFINDOR" The cheers were most deafening from the Gryffindor table though the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws looked pleased as well, it was only the Slytherin who remained silent. The biggest cheer was from Sirius though who gave her a quick hug as she sat down. The both grinned and the sorting continued, the pair of them ignored it though instead talking quietly before a third name caught their attention

            "Remus Lupin" Sirius glanced up and frowned, many of the teachers were sitting forward and staring at Remus as if they had never seen a new student before. Remus ignored it as he sat on the stool looking composed if white

            _Remus Lupin. I have never sorted out one like you before _the hat said causing Remus to shut his eyes tightly, here it was, the hat was going to place him in Slytherin and then he'll be separated from all his new friends and alone once again _Slytherin _the hat said his voice echoing round Remus's head _There is no reason to put you in there for something that was beyond your control. The wolf does not affect your personality, just your physical form. There is a cunning streak in you and a manipulative one as well but not enough to place you into Slytherin. Your intelligence is there and Ravenclaw would help you expand it but perhaps the coldness of that house would not do you well. Your loyal hardworking side indicates Hufflepuff but you are extremely brave to go through all you do and not to feel hateful to the world and those around you, courage also is great in you. You my dear little Werewolf belong in _"GRYFFINDOR" Remus didn't stay long instead immediately jumping off the stage and pretty much running to the table where Sirius and Lily greeted him warmly. He glanced around once to see his 14-year-old brother grinning at him from the Ravenclaw house and felt an answer grin coming to his face.

            "Peter Pettigrew" Peter ran up the stairs and sat himself down on the chair, he was almost glad he had thrown up before and not now, the hat was placed over his head and he waited though for a moment silence met him

            _Another Pettigrew, I remember sorting your mother and father out, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, your older sister was also a Hufflepuff but you are much more complicated then they were._ Peter frowned at that, what did the hat mean? _Many different sides and feelings reside in you, you want to prove yourself to others and yet you are afraid to do so, you could do well with someone strong to help you. Slytherin would be the answer, they protect their own and you would find protection there, a cunning side to you would also benefit, perhaps not though. Ravenclaw would never do to you neither will Hufflepuff. Slytherin or Gryffindor both would allow you to do what you desire; both would allow you to succeed. _

            "But my friends" he thought, an image of James, Sirius and Remus coming to his face "I'd rather be with them then anything else"

            _Black and Lupin are your friends? Very well Peter Pettigrew, lets see how you do in "_GRYFFINDOR" Peter felt light-headed and for a second he sat there even as he got cheered, he noticed James giving him a thumbs up form the small crowd left and grinned back looking over where Remus and Sirius were clapping ecstatically, he jumped down and joined them

            "James is next" he stated as he sat down and sure enough McGonagall voice echoed round the hall again

            "James Potter" James went up there with a great deal more cockiness then he felt and grinned up at the Professor as she placed the hat on his head

            _Potter I have waited for you since your father came here, there is a great many things you don't know about yourself, many important things _James raised an eyebrow, he hadn't expected that as a starter _There is only one place you belong, a place where your family will always be destined to be till they die out. You must be a _"GRYFFINDOR" James frowned as he made his way to the table, barely noticing that his had been the shortest time up there. What had it meant he shook his head and turned to Sirius and Remus grinning

            "And the pair of you thought you were going to be a no good Slytherin" he remarked with a laugh. The sorting was soon over and once Cody Zabini had sat himself down at the Slytherin table the head teacher stood up and surveyed them all over half moon shaped glasses

            "Welcome one and all" he said, his voice echoing round the hall, he sounded friendly, like an old relative or something and many people suddenly felt at ease "Before we eat as we all, myself included, are dying to do I must first introduce myself I am Professor Dumbledore and I am the new head teacher" enthusiastic claps occurred from all the house except the Slytherins. "The forbidden forest is out of bounds as is the area around the newly planted whomping willow unless you have a death wish of course" he remarked brightly "The caretaker Mr Roberts has reminded me to tell you that no magic is to be preformed in-between classes. Now Let's eat" he clapped his hand loudly together and food suddenly appeared, gorgeous food at that, several different kinds of meats, different vegetables, different kinds of potatoes there were even vegetarian options which Lily Evans jumped on with delight. Once their plates were full and they had eaten enough to curb their hunger, James looked up and glanced at the three boys by him

            "This is going to be the start of something great" he announced looking round them all in turn "I just know it, this will be something we'll never forget as long as we live"

A/N – There you go, I can't exactly tell you why it was so long it just was, I thought it would be important and my muse got out of control and went wild. Sirius had made up his mind so I can start evolving his character now and yeah. Please Review and I'll update as soon as I can. Thanks

**NEXT CHAPTER – First night and first day I guess, anything you especially want to see happen? Yes? Then let me know in your review. I do pay attention to them after all.**


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